


youngblood

by cryystal_m00n



Category: Block B, DEAN (Korean Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, Lord help them, M/M, Tiny bit of Angst, dumb and edgy!hyuk, fluff?, hyuk and jiho need to work out their relationship smh, hyuk is an ass for most of this fic oops, positive!jiho, take taeil and kyung as an example
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 19:19:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16708504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryystal_m00n/pseuds/cryystal_m00n
Summary: if you were to ask jiho why he considered himself an optimistic person, he wouldn’t have an actual answer, he just always knew that it was in his nature. that’s how he’s always been, that’s how he will be. and he liked that, he liked seeing the full half of the glass, liked seeing the good in people. it all felt right for him.





	youngblood

**Author's Note:**

> i've been working on this since summer (kinda) so if things suddenly dont make sense im sorry  
> i would also like to thank my best friend for giving me this idea and if ure actually reading this shit fest, i love you bitch, i aint never gonna stop loving you bitch  
> anyways, i hope its actually good

if you were to ask jiho why he considered himself an optimistic person, he wouldn’t have an actual answer, he just always knew that it was in his nature. that’s how he’s always been, that’s how he will be. and he liked that, he liked seeing the full half of the glass, liked seeing the good in people. it all felt right for him.

 

many would say that the negative liberty and the positive one are rivals, meant to hate one another, to not as much look each other in the eye. jiho liked to think of them of equals. he liked to think that no matter one’s view on humanity, they were still created and given the same chance as the rest. he thought of people as exactly what they were, thought of them as indistinguishable human beings.

 

he preferred the idea of human beings sharing an innate goodness. one that could be shaped by education, self-discipline, those around the person; could be changed by neglect, by negative influences, but despite that, it would never be lost. it would always be with the person, no matter how deep inside their heart and mind. that was the human nature to jiho.

 

but no matter how positive he was, jiho still had his limits, precisely being shaken awake from his five minute nap by one very noisy park kyung.

 

“wake up, fuck turd,” kyung said, going back to his book after having successfully woken up the other man.

 

jiho yawned, looking down at his own notes and books. “for someone studying to work with kids, you have very little patience, doc.” the brunette sighed as scratched the back of his neck with one of his pencils.

 

“and for someone studying music theory you’re very…” the blond looked at jiho’s rainbow sweater, his oversized light-washed denim jacket, taking in his unwashed shaggy hair, “never mind,”

 

jiho blew him a kiss, the sound too obnoxious for their setting in the library. “love you t— oh, hi, hyuk!” he smiled at the figure dressed in black passing by. the figure, hyuk, didn’t even spare him a look, before exiting the building.

 

“why are you trying to be nice to that asshole?” kyung questioned, eyes still in the direction the man went in.

 

“he’s not that bad, you know… he’s just, i don’t know, a bit of an ass. besides,” the brunette shrugged, reaching for his long forgotten cup of coffee, “he’s my neighbor. what if i ever need help to kill a cockroach?”

 

“he doesn’t deserve you to act all friendly with him when he can’t even acknowledge you, ji. i swear, one day your positivity will get you in some very dumb shit,” the man pointed out, picking his phone up and quickly sending a text.

 

“maybe,” jiho grinned. “but i already know you’ll be there to get me out.”

 

the elder stood up, grabbing his belongings and putting them back in his bag. “come on, i have to get ready for a date,” he explained, urging his friend to stand up as well.

 

“i still can’t believe taeil-hyung likes your sorry ass.” jiho said, arm linking with kyung’s. “he’s way too cool for you, mister i-had-a-mullet-once-and-looked-like-taylor-swift-for-two-weeks,” he snorted just as the other hit his head, missing, however, as jiho ducked. he only laughed louder at the blond’s attempt to grab him and punch him again.

 

that’s what he truly enjoyed about his and kyung’s friendship. their ‘we might seem like we hate each other but, actually, we would take a bullet for one another’. and to think it all started from jiho destroying kyung’s fighting robot fifteen years ago. he wouldn’t change his best friend for anything, not even for meeting the weeknd in person and getting to make out with him for twenty minutes. well...

 

he was laughing so hard trying to imitate the blond singing one of taylor swift’s songs, that he failed to notice the man walking in his direction, until he felt someone bumping into him. “watch where you’re going, dumbass,” the man snarled, throwing jiho a nasty look.

 

the man chose to ignore it, instead opting for a smile. “sorry, hyuk. i was just tell--” he doesn’t get to finish, for hyuk just scoffed and continued to go his way. “well, wasn’t that rude.” jiho sighed, just as kyung muttered an ‘asshole’.

 

“come on, kyung, i want my best friend to get the d,” the brunette sing-sang, dragging the man to his apartment.

 

for the rest of the day, however, jiho couldn’t shake off the thought of hyuk glaring at him. he felt vexed by it, for some reason. but he just couldn’t pinpoint why.

 

* * *

 

jiho knew that agreeing to spend time with a couple meant third-wheeling. he knew that and took full responsibility for being ignored by his two friends. friends who have decided to not pay any attention to their meal and instead cuddle right in front of the brunette, acting as if they were the only one in the cafe. kyung looked at the elder, taking their intertwined hands and lifting them up to his mouth to press one soft kiss to taeil’s tattooed knuckles. the older man smiled up at his boyfriend, resting his head on his chest again, to, what jiho assumed, was to listen to the blond’s heartbeat. gross, yet adorable.

 

the man sighed, looking at his instagram feed again. it was easy for jiho to get lost in the colorful images, to mindlessly scroll through them, not sparing at least half of them a glance. it took him minutes for his vision to become blurry at the edges, the static in his ears to pick up, the feeling in his hands and legs to slowly disappear.

 

it took only moments for jiho to not realize that there’s someone sitting next to him. “hey,” they said, grabbing the brunette’s attention. “i hope i’m not intruding.”

 

the man looked up from his phone, only to meet his neighbor smiling pleasantly at him. jiho mirrored his smile, moving his bag from the foot of the table. “hey, you’re not. you need anything?” from across the table, kyung frowned at the scene happening in front of him.

 

“oh, i wanted to apologize for acting like a dick the other day--”

 

“for being a giant dick in general,” kyung coughed, interrupting the other. hyuk just nodded at that, looking down at his lap.

 

“he’s right. i really shouldn’t have been so mean to you, not when you were just trying to be nice to me. i get it if you won’t accept my apology, but i just wanted to, i don’t know, at least make sure that i tried, you know?” he confessed as he bit his lip, anxiously waiting for a reply.

 

jiho blinked at him, not fully grasping what the other was saying. he did so for a full minute until he broke into a smile. “hey, that’s chill. at least you understood that what you did was wrong. so yes, i accept your apology, hyuk.” he gave hyuk his hand, the other quick to shake it.

 

they spent the following half an hour talking, the bud of a friendship slowly blossoming between them. jiho has found out that the mysterious smell that appears every friday are hyuk’s attempts at cooking for his and his best friend’s weekly dinner, that said best friend occasionally brings his very mean dog (his son, as dubbed by hyoseob), and that said dog always liked to bark at abnormal hours.

 

he also had found out that hyuk majored in film studies, that he had a minor in business and that he dreamed of directing a movie as great as kubrick.

 

so engrossed in his discussion with the man, jiho missed to worried looks kyung had been throwing him, the frowns on the blond’s face, the way his glances hardened when they fell on hyuk.

 

just as he was ready to leave, already standing up next to jiho, hyuk lit up, beaming at the brunette. “oh! i wanted to invite you guys to come with me and my friends to the arcade next weekend. hyoseob is bringing his boyfriend and i don’t really feel like third-wheeling,”

 

the brunette looked at his best friend. kyung shrugged, which the younger took as a sign of yes. he quickly agreed to hyuk’s offer, before exchanging numbers and the promise of sending each other the details.

 

after hyuk had left, taeil insisted on teasing jiho, especially how red he had gotten as soon as the former had smiled at him, action warm and gentle, nothing alike the usual look devoid of emotions the man had reserved for jiho. kyung, on the other hand, couldn’t help but wonder why the sudden change. why go from presumably hating jiho’s presence to trying to be civil with him in a matter of days.

 

when questioned by taeil as to why he was so silent, kyung just gave him a peck and a reassurance that everything was fine. he promised himself to find out what happened.

 

* * *

 

over the course of one week, jiho and hyuk’s relationship went from unrequited hate from hyuk’s part, to ‘yea, i can help you with your groceries, no biggie’, to ‘oops i just shared my darkest fears and all my traumas with you so i guess now we’re actual friends’.

 

thing is, jiho wasn’t used to things moving this quickly. he was reserved, especially about his feelings, not wanting to bother others with his thoughts or ideas. but with hyuk? with him things came naturally. he felt no doubt whatsoever when he started telling the younger his life story, everything that was going on inside his head. for once, he felt safe and understood, in a way that not even kyung could make him feel.

 

how could he feel like this with someone that not even days ago was a complete stranger to him, someone about whom the only thing he knew was their name?

 

jiho didn’t know if he should be scared or afraid.

 

* * *

 

they met in front of the arcade, hyuk, hyoseob and the latter’s boyfriend already waiting for them. jiho blinked at the boyfriend, certain that the man was one of the teachers in the faculty. as soon as he wanted to ask, however, the two excused themselves, going in the direction of the air hockey tables, mentioning something about a bet.

 

hyuk smiled at the three, encouraging them to go and play, ‘not stay and be boring when even haesol-hyung is playing something’. jiho smiled at the man, before looking around and noticing an old donkey kong game. he grabbed kyung by the arm and, without another word, ran towards the machine.

 

that left taeil and hyuk sitting in a somewhat awkward silence, neither of them knowing how to start a conversation. hyuk pointed to a claw machine, “we could try to win kyung something. might help you get the d sooner.” he finally said, making the elder laugh.

 

the shorter man silently agreed, moving to stand in front of one of the games. he spotted the plushie of a fat cat and he thought that, surprisingly, the toy looked a lot like their baby, crusty. so crusty’s lookalike it was.  

 

after ten agonizingly slow minutes, the two finally decided to call it quits. just as the taller was ready to propose another game, they heard a tiny sob coming from a few machines down. the men looked in the direction of the cry, noticing three tiny kids trying to calm down a fourth one. “hey, what’s wrong, little one?” taeil asked, voice soft as he moved to stand next to the children.

 

“jiyu lost all her money trying to win totoro!” a girl explained, pointing to her crying friend. “help her, oppa!” the other two quickly agreed, a chorus of pleads coming from the three children.

 

the man nodded, looking over at hyuk. the latter only shrugged as he reached for his wallet. taeil mirrored his action. they spotted the plushie, a small toy of totoro eating ice-cream, and were fast to try and win it. fortunately for them, almost as if god wanted them to look like heroes in the kids’ eyes, they manage to get the toy out of the machine and into the little girl’s hands.

 

jiyu hugged them, smiling up through the few tears left. “thank you, oppa!” she kissed taeil’s cheek loudly, doing the same to hyuk.

 

the kids waved goodbye, leaving the two men alone. “you’re good with kids,” hyuk said, matter of fact.

 

the elder smiled, turning to face him. “i was always the odd one out, especially as a kid,” came the answer, a few moments later followed by, “so i was pretty lonely. i hate seeing them cry, you feel me? breaks my heart.”

 

hyuk hummed, not getting to say anything as kyung came rushing towards them, hugging his boyfriend from behind. “you’re a hero, tae! you made the little princess happy!” he yelled, as if the man was unable to hear him.

 

jiho appeared slowly after, telling his best friend to shut up. he grinned at hyuk, getting a small smile from the man in return.

 

he really hoped nothing could ruin the day.

 

* * *

 

jiho happily noticed how for the rest of the day, taeil and hyuk seemed to spend more and more time together, how the two were slowly but surely becoming closer and closer, to his obvious delight. while the rest of the men were busy eating at the fast food right next to the arcade, the two have spent the food break conversing outside over cigarettes, coming back inside just as they were wrapping up their meal.

 

they walked back into the arcade, hyoseob challenging kyung to a game of basketball to see who can be the true akagi takenori of the group. being the weeb that he was, kyung took the bait without even thinking about it, running to the basketball game while singing the opening to the anime with a flawless pronunciation.

 

jiho laughed, calling after kyung and telling the elder that he was off to the bathroom, but not to worry, he’ll be there soon enough to watch him lose.

 

just as he was getting ready to turn and leave for the bathroom, hyuk stopped him to ask for his usual drink. “coke, please,” he answered, making the younger snort.

 

“good to know you’re into drugs, hyung.”

 

jiho just pushed the blond, moving away from him and into the direction of the toilet. he smiled at himself in the mirror, making fingerguns, and succeeding in freaking out an innocent passerby.

 

he walked out, going back to his friends while whistling. he came to the scene of the little girl taeil had helped earlier that day crying on the floor, right next to the elder man, whose face was a mix of confusion and something jiho could not recognize, something akin to anger but not really. something on taeil’s face made the brunette think that the man had not realize what was going on around him.

 

kyung was sitting right next to his boyfriend, trying to get him to breathe in time with him, to calm down. haesol was on the floor, helping the little girl calm down as well, hugging her tight and petting her hair. at the girl’s feet, there lay the totoro plushie taeil helped her win.

 

jiho walked over to hyoseob who was still trying to gather what was happening in front of him. he coughed, signaling to the younger that he is there.

 

“taeil-hyung just pushed a kid…” he let out, turning to look at the other man. “we were playing an-and the girl came running, you know? she crashed into hyung and hyung… he growled, honest to god growled, at her and pushed her.”

 

hyuk came as well, drinks in his hands, looking just as bewildered as the rest of them. jiho shook his head at the younger, quickly explaining the situation. the blond put his hand around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze.

 

if jiho were to actually pay attention to the younger man holding him, he would have noticed the little knowing smirk, that rapidly changed back into the worried expression. but he was too busy still trying to understand what was happening.

 

too busy to catch on.

 

* * *

 

the next few days remain quiet. no kyung calling him every few minutes to ask about how to make waffles, no taeil sending him samples of his new music, nothing. not even a check up message from hyuk. he felt… empty, lonely.

 

he was ready to go out and drag kyung and taeil to a nearby cafe, when he had gotten a text from hyuk, reading, simply: ‘party at my place. come?’

 

jiho has never answered a text as quickly as this one. he asked kyung too, but to no one’s surprise he doesn’t even get a seen. jiho just sighed, standing up from his bed and going to his closet. he picked the first clothes he saw, not really caring about playing dress up. he just wanted to drink and maybe, if he’s lucky, even smoke some.

 

he went to find hyuk as soon as he got inside the house. it may have seemed as something exclusive, but all he had to do was knock on the door once, before someone opened it, passed him a solo cup filled with some disgusting mix of alcohols and let him in. so there he was, looking out of place in a house full of people getting shit-faced, while he was still very sober and uncomfortable with how some of them started grinding on him.

 

fortunately, it wasn’t long before he finally spotted hyuk across the room, near the table full of alcohol, talking to some random boy. he looked bored, but as soon as his eyes found jiho’s, he brightened up. he walked away from the boy, not letting him even say goodbye, and with just a few steps he was next to jiho.

 

“hey, hot stuff,” he winked, taking jiho’s cup and drinking some of the alcohol. he gagged, dumping the rest of its contents into a flower pot.

 

jiho laughed, motioning with his head towards the kitchen. “you got something better? stronger?” he asked, trying hard not to blush at the fact that kwon hyuk himself called him ‘hot stuff’. it had to be some kind of cruel joke.

 

hyuk nodded, putting his hands on jiho’s shoulder. he leaned forward, until he was just a breath away from jiho. “wait here. don’t move,” he said and the elder could feel his hot breath right next to his ear. he nodded dumbly, watching as the blond turned around and walked to the kitchen, hips swaying as he did so.

 

not even five minutes later, hyuk was back with two bottles of vodka and a blunt behind his ear, hidden by his long wavy hair. ever since he started curling the blond locks, jiho has been wondering if it still feels soft, or if it’s mostly fried. he hadn’t got the chance to ask him yet.

 

hyuk signaled the brunette to follow him upstairs, where he opened a door using his elbow. jiho tried to reach and do it for him, but the younger was faster than him, and before he knew it, he was sitting on a bed, watching hyuk light the blunt and take a long drag. jiho just stared at him, at the way his lips wrapped around it, how he let the smoke out, the way his adam apple moved as he then swallowed some of the vodka. he was fascinated by the man in front of him.

 

he doesn’t even notice that the man asked him a question. he shook his head quickly, before asking the younger to repeat himself.

 

“i said, do you want some?”

 

the brunette nodded, holding his hand out for the younger to pass it to him. he takes a drag too, albeit, a bit shorter. he might smoke some every now and then, but he still doesn’t like the way it makes his throat feel.

 

hyuk tilted his head back, letting it rest on the bed mattress, before smiling at ceiling. “this is nice, isn’t it?”

 

“hm?” jiho hummed, shaking himself from the trance he was in. “yea, sure.”

 

the blond laughed, taking the opened bottle and bringing it to his lips. “you sure know how to keep a conversation going, hyung.”

 

at that, jiho blushed. he blamed it on the drugs. “it’s just... “ he began, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “i’m still not over the fact that taeil pushed that little girl, you know?”

 

hyuk suddenly stopped laughing, putting the bottle next to him and turning to look at the elder. “what if i told you…” he said as he leaned in closer to the brunette, “that i was the one that made him do it?”

 

jiho snorted, pushing the younger lightly away. “good joke, hyuk. made me believe you for a second there.”

 

“i’m not joking,” he admitted, smug smile present on his face.

 

“you--” jiho started, not wasting any time before reaching forward to punch the younger’s face. he couldn’t believe it. hyuk, the one he considered his friend even though they’ve been talking for just about two weeks, the one he had shared his fears with, the one hoped will become a regular in his friend’s group, just confessed to having made one of his best friends feel like shit, made him cry over what he did and refuse to go outside in fear that it might happen again. he didn’t want to believe this. so he just punched and hit and scratched, ignoring the tears running down his face in favor of feeling something, _anything_ other than the pain in his chest.

 

he stopped only when he realised that the younger wasn’t fighting back. he took a deep breath, before grabbing the bottle and drinking almost half of it. he stood up, walking to the window and looking outside, hoping that that would calm him down. that was, until he heard a snicker behind him. he didn’t want to turn around and look at what he did to the blond.

 

“what, you’re not gonna finish what you began?”

 

“fuck off, hyuk. fuck right off,” he spat, opening the window and taking a deep breath.

 

“people usually beat me until i need stitches, you know?”

“don’t victimize yourself, dude. it’s not a pretty look.”

 

behind him, hyuk shrugged. “i’m just saying, it wouldn’t be the first time it happened, nor will it be the last.”

 

jiho still looked ahead, trying to focus his mind on the stars that were beginning to shine at their brightest. in that moment, jiho wanted to be a star. he wanted to be something so ethereal yet so simple. to have no worry, to explode just to create something even more beautiful, not to be stuck in this room with someone that could be so cruel, someone like hyuk.

 

he turned to glare at the blond. the other wasn’t looking at him, too busy looking up at the ceiling and feeling his jaw and nose for any broken bones. he was in luck, since the elder had the power of a wet cloth. he walked over to the bed, taking a seat next to him.

 

“explain it.”

 

hyuk turned to look at him, confusion evident on his face. “explain what?”

 

“why you did it. why did you do that to taeil?”

 

he could tell that the younger was at loss of words. he just raised an eyebrow, a way of telling him to hurry up.

 

the man took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he did so. “well…” he started, trying to find his words. “it’s fun, for one. people are fun to mess with, you know? it’s just… everything about them is so bland, so unoriginal and basic. all of us, me included, we have nothing special. we are born, we live a mediocre life and then we die. end of the story. i’m trying to make things just a bit more fun, even if i’m the only one laughing,” he confessed, eyes never leaving jiho’s. “good enough for you?”

 

“that’s… really sad, hyuk” jiho said, as he played with the ring on his middle finger. “but i do see where you’re coming from, i guess. it’s just so… radical, don’t you think? who are you to decide if someone’s life is boring or not? especially someone you don’t know. besides, isn’t this the reason we are here? the reason we are born? to make our time worthwhile? we’re all equal here, until we can break the algorithm. so stop being a prick to others and focus on your life more, hyuk. maybe then yours would be interesting too, and you won’t have to rovolve around making others feel like shit,” and with one last look at the younger, the man was up and walking to the door.

 

“wait!” hyuk screeched from his place on the bed. “don’t go…”

 

his voice was a mere above whispering, but jiho could hear, _feel_ the desperation in it.

 

“i don’t want to feel alone again.”

 

so jiho chose to stay.

 

* * *

 

it sort of became a routine for them. every other night they would meet, be it at jiho’s place or hyuk’s. it made them both (even if hyuk didn’t want to admit it at first) safer. it made them feel like someone cares about them, someone that isn’t their best friends. on those nights it was just jiho and hyuk, hyuk and jiho, and nothing else mattered.

 

* * *

 

it was at a party again when something drastic to their relationship happened. it all started with hyuk drinking too much once again, it continued with him dragging jiho out on the balcony and it ended with hyuk talking about the both of them in the dim light provided by the moon.

 

“i think i like you,” he blurted out right near the end of his short speech.

 

jiho smiled at hyuk, nudging him with his shoulder. "i knew you couldn’t resist my charms," he laughed, sound light and airy. 

  
"hyung?" jiho hummed, sign that he was listening, not just staring at the other’s face. "i'm gonna do something stupid." hyuk announced, suddenly his actions shy, unsure. 

  
before he could answer, just like the time they fought, there was a punch, but this time, softer, lighter and gentler than anything jiho had ever felt. he leaned into the younger's touch, chasing him when he pulled back. 

  
there, on hyoseob’s balcony, surrounded by the dark, only the stars watching over them, they held hands. and everything was ok.

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/cryystal_moon)   
>  [tumblr](http://cryystal-m00n.tumblr.com)   
>  [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/cryystal_moon)


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